Modi should apologise for fooling people on black money issue: Congress

Congress today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks on black money at the G20 Summit and demanded that he first apologise for “fooling the people” and failing to deposit Rs 15 lakh in each citizen’s bank account.

“In the Lok Sabha poll campaign, Modi had promised that within 100 days of becoming Prime Minister, he would deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every Indian by bringing back black money stashed abroad.

“Today is 827 days of his coming to power, he should apologise eight times for failing to honour the promise and fooling the people,” party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.

Accusing the Prime Minister and the ruling BJP of “lying” to the country, he said that to “obfuscate” the matter, Modi was now asking G20 leaders to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, unconditionally extradite money launderers and end excessive banking secrecy.

Tewari also attacked the government for failing to act against people in high places whose names have appeared in the Panama papers. “There has not been a demonstrable action even against a single person.”

He wondered, in the last two years, how many new tax information agreements and double taxation avoidance treaties had been signed by the Modi government.

He gave credit to the efforts made by the erstwhile UPA for whatever success the NDA government has achieved in the last two years to unearth black money.

Asked whether it was proper to target the Prime Minister when he is on a foreign tour, Tewari said it was Modi who broke the rule by attacking his political opponents during visits abroad.